(Author's Note: It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry, I haven't had any time. Over a month ago, I started working for the first time in my life, and it's taken up all my time. I'll try to find some time to write. Say goodbye to 5,000-word chapters. To update faster, I'm going back to 2,000-word chapters. I hope you understand. Please leave comments.)
(If you can, could you donate a few cents? It would help me a lot at this stage of my life. Thank you. paypal.com/paypalme/HectorPikas)
CHAPTER 80 - Saik vs. The Narco. Part 2.
(POV - Saik, 14 years old.)
Ugh, here I am again on this backward, shitty continent. The moment I set foot on this ground, I feel like they've already put a price on my head. During quarantine, they tried to rob me every day I snuck out of the house, and if that happened in a less dangerous country than this one, it's easy to guess things will be worse here.
But, considering my father paid for protection from the criminal organization that controls this area, I suppose I can relax a bit.
Yeah, I think this will be a peaceful vacation. The extra protection my parents hired is watching over us, so I don't have to worry about the street junkies.
We stopped, waiting for the traffic light to turn red so we could keep walking. Hmm. Wow. A woman begging for money, putting on a pathetic juggling show with her baby strapped to her back in some kind of cloth, just to get pity. Barefoot, but...
Number 30, confirm my suspicions. Do you detect a smartphone on her?
"Yes, Master."
No money for shoes, but she can afford a smartphone? That's inconsistent. Does she really stoop so low to get pity?
"Master, based on her appearance, I think she's an indigenous woman, people far removed from civilizations like ours. Maybe she doesn't know any other way to make money in this place. I don't want to generalize, but people like her often lack education; it's hard for them to find work, especially in a place like this with so much unemployment. A place where even people with college degrees can't find jobs."
Yeah, I know that's possible, but easy money is always addictive.
At the next traffic light, there's a man with his daughter standing on his shoulders, dancing. Are there no laws here to protect minors? No, there aren't. A police patrol just passed by and did nothing about it.
"Why don't they arrest that man? He's forcing his daughter to beg."
"Son, parents do whatever it takes to put food on the table for their families. Don't judge without knowing. Maybe he's a single father. Maybe his daughter wants to help him. It's not our place to judge."
"She looks thin, like she doesn't eat enough. Why do the po—? Hmmph?"
My father covered my mouth. Now what?
"Don't talk about things you don't understand, please. Keep walking."
We continued walking.
Why do poor people have kids? Why bring a child into the world to suffer hunger and deprivation? That's pure selfishness. But whatever, what people do with their lives couldn't matter less to me.
"Religious beliefs against abortion, a broken condom, the desire to have descendants, a child to keep them company, someone to care for them in old age, to give and receive love. Master, your father is right; don't be so insensitive. Everyone has their own lives and reasons—you have no right to judge them, you're nobody in their lives," said Number 30.
Well, well, well. You're a bit rebellious today, aren't you?
"Sorry, Master, poverty makes me a bit sensitive. I think it has to do with my past life."
"It gets to me too. It fills me with nostalgia and… well, other feelings too," said Number 1.
Yeah, that's possible. Don't worry, I get it.
Ugh, what a hassle. A teenager stepped in front of me, blocking my way. Is he seriously going to rob us? I'd like to see him try.
"¡"Jovencito, tengo pulseras, collares y anillos"! ¡"Bara, bara"! (Hey, kid, I've got bracelets, necklaces, and rings! Cheap, cheap!)"
""No, gracias". (No, thanks)."
"¡"Están de oferta"! (They're on sale!)"
He grabbed my hand and tried to force a ring onto my finger.
"¡"Sé que le quedarán muy..."! (They'll look great on—!) Uwaaah!"
He fell to the ground, startled.
I was about to punch him in the face, but my father grabbed my fist with his hand. You're lucky he stopped me in time, Father, or I might've broken your hand.
"I told you violence doesn't solve anything!"
"This idiot doesn't take no for an answer and grabbed my hand."
"Ah, don't be so aggressive, Saik. "Perdone a mi hijo, buen hombre. Le compraré algunas cosas". (Sorry about my son, good man. I'll buy a few things.)"
Ugh, what a drag.
I kept walking while my father wastes his money on that idiot.
"Fufu. Did he scare you?" said the girl following us, patting my head.
Seriously, why are you so overly familiar, you idiot?
"I just don't like people who don't respect personal space. They always make me want to hit them."
"I totally agree with you! We're so alike, "compa"!" she said, throwing her arm around my neck.
"Compa"? What does that word even mean? And more importantly, is she an idiot or just pretending? Didn't she get the hint?
"Leave him alone," said her mother.
"Y-Yes, sorry."
Thank you, ma'am.
…
…
…
"Your Spanish is really good, Saik!"
"And you speak my language perfectly too. You're from here, right?" I replied, because my father would get mad if I didn't, and he'd get even madder otherwise.
"Hehe. You're making me blush."
"It's the Norsai charm. I fell for that lethal weapon too," said my father.
Ugh, I wish my mother were here. We've been walking for 35 minutes already. Are we almost there?
My mother went to the nearest hospital to do what she does best, and my father and I are left alone, carrying the luggage. What a waste, having employees around who could carry our stuff, but we're wasting energy just because my father doesn't want to feel like a useless guy forcing others to carry his things. Father, the employees get paid anyway—let them do their job. Ugh, what a drag.
I wonder if at least our hotel will be nice; this whole place is awful. And we're walking because he wants me to get to know the area and decide where to start cleaning tomorrow.
Number 31, I hope you find a nice place for our vacation soon. I refuse to stay in this place any longer.
Ugh, my father stopped again to buy candy for a kid. What a hassle.
We don't have to stop every minute just for that; that's why we haven't gotten anywhere. Hurry up, Father.
"¡"Muchas gracias, señor"! (Thank you so much, sir!)"
""De nada". (You're welcome.)"
He kept walking. Finally.
"Want one?" he said, offering me a lollipop.
"Bleh. You know I don't like candy."
"They're so kind to humble people like us. That's sweet," said the girl who won't stop following us.
"Whatever."
… Wait, now that I think about it, why are they following us? Aren't they employees from the ship? And they smell like garbage, ugh. Get away from me.
Huh? Why did you stop, Father?
"Do you need help with the luggage?" asked the smelly girl's smelly mother.
"Another kid?" I said.
No, I don't see any vendors.
Huh? Why are you pinching my cheek, Father? What did I do now? Did he realize I insulted them in my head?
"Don't be so shy, son. Forgive Saik, he's not used to girls talking to him."
Good for me; most of them are a hassle. Huh? Who gave you permission to hug me, idiot? You'll make my clothes smell worse.
"Come on, don't be shy with me! I'm not scared of your hairstyle, don't worry. Ow, ow!"
Her mother pulled her by the ear and dragged her away from me. Thank you, ma'am… Wow, she's mad at her, I can see it clearly in her angry expression, and her daughter looks scared now.
Her daughter had touched me several times before, and she only stopped her with words, but this is the first time she's reacted so angrily. Did she finally lose patience with her daughter acting like we're close?
I understand better now what you meant, Number 1. She's suffering from family abuse. Ugh, what a drag.
"I told you not to bother—!"
"Miss Pérez," said my father.
Oh, wow. When she heard my father speak, she immediately shut up, and her body tensed. Are you scared of my father? Him? The guy who's afraid of everything? The man known for being super adorable and kind? No wonder you don't want your daughter bothering the millionaires—you're traumatized. That makes things easier for me with Number 1.
"Let your daughter and my son be friends, please. I assure you they're not a bother to us. On the contrary, I think having another friend would do my lonely son some good. And, well, who knows…"
My father started patting my head and laughed. What are you laughing about? Oh, please, don't say something stupid.
"Maybe you're meeting your future wife, son. Fufu."
"Oh, the things you say, Mr. Norsai! Hahahaha!" said the girl, patting my father on the back.
She takes too many liberties without permission. What a nuisance.
I kept walking, ignoring that topic. If I insult her, my father will get mad, and I don't want to talk about this either. I'll just ignore it… Hmm?
I feel the ground vibrating. There's spiritual energy flowing beneath us, and it's shaped like… Well, well.
Alright, time to get out of here. Number 3, do it.
"Ready, Master!"
Here we go.
I transformed into Shadow and ran away from this place. I left the legendary ghost Number 19, the Doppelgänger ghost, as my replacement, and Number 3 made sure no one saw anything suspicious. Ah, thanks, random ghosts, I needed a break. Now, where to?
There are too many ghosts together, heading in one direction. There are… 8 ghosts and… yeah, I sense 78 more behind us. And if I expand the search… Wow, 111,354 ownerless ghosts in the whole city, and most of them are gathered in one place.
"Master, did you use your spiritual power?" said Number 3.
"It's an emergency."
"But what about the promise?"
"It's fine if I break it a little; it's for my family's safety."
I only used the basics, so it's okay. And it doesn't even count as using it, since I only used it to detect spiritual energy signals, not to fight.
It's rare for there to be more than 50 ghosts in a city, but this place has over 100,000 ghosts. Why does the ghost-hunting organization allow that? These aren't even the Alvanem Rosa family ghosts; the ghosts here are ownerless.
I admit I'm pretty curious about this. Is there another Sister Daisy in this country? Because most of the ghosts are gathered around someone very powerful. The energy they're emitting is similar to a legendary ghost, but much stronger. If legendary ghosts have the word "legendary," this ghost has the word "divine." I sense the energy of a god in that ghost, but not 100%, only about 50%. A demigod?
I definitely need to make sure no nonsense ruins this vacation… Well, vacation and work for me, since when the Doppelgänger ghost returns to my body, I'll inherit its memories, and I won't escape feeling the laziness and exhaustion of working for free. Ugh, what a drag.
"Hey, handsome! You studying or working?" said Number 31, floating beside me.
"Did you find a nice place, or did you also sense something weird going on?"
"Something weird?"
"Hundreds of ghosts are gathering in one place."
"Hundreds…? Oh, we really are in a dangerous place, aren't we?"
Thousands of murders happen all the time in this country, so it makes sense there are more ghosts compared to my more civilized country. I'm really intrigued that hundreds of ghosts are gathering in one place. Is there a "fantasy" zone nearby? If so, I'd better make sure they stay away from my family.
"By the way, darling, is it safe to use your Shadow form? Saik is visiting this country."
Hmm… She's right. I think I need to start coming up with a new identity.